


The Definition of Speed

by sister_wolf



Category: DCU (Comics), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-06
Updated: 2006-06-06
Packaged: 2017-10-12 05:31:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/121332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sister_wolf/pseuds/sister_wolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the beginning of <em>The Titans</em>, Roy and Wally look at the past and the future.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Definition of Speed

**Author's Note:**

> For [](http://derryderrydown.livejournal.com/profile)[**derryderrydown**](http://derryderrydown.livejournal.com/), who requested: "Roy Harper, Wally West, speed. Absolutely any definition of speed." Somehow, it became a love letter to the original Titans. Timeline is toward the very beginning of _The Titans_. If I've messed up any canon details, my apologies.

1\. _the act or state of moving swiftly_

It took most of the afternoon, but everyone's finally settled in to the new Titans Tower (which isn't really a tower at all, just a hologram over an underground base, but it's not like Wally is ever going to get used to calling it the Titans Underground Base, so. Tower it is.) He got bored around four and took off to see if there was anything interesting going on in Central City (two robberies and a ten-car pileup on I-74, which took almost twenty minutes to clear up.) It's almost sunset now, and he's taking a run around the perimeter of the island, thinking about heading back home, when he sees Roy standing at the end of the dock that stretches out toward the city.

Wally pauses for half a second, debating whether he should go over and talk to him. If asked, Wally would have to say that Dick is his best friend; the funny thing is, he's pretty sure Roy would say exactly the same thing. Wally and Roy, on the other hand, haven't been close friends for a long time. He's not sure when the rift (if it _is_ a rift-- he's hopeless at figuring stuff like that out) started, but it's got the force of momentum behind it now.

It's a new team, though, and maybe it's time for a new start. With that in mind, Wally zips over to stand next to Roy, squinting against the red glare of sunset. "Hey."

***

2\. _the time during which a camera shutter is open_

"Hey," Roy says, seemingly unstartled by Wally's appearance out of nowhere. He's got a stack of photos in his hands, Wally notices.

"What're you looking at?" It's hard to resist the urge to just take them out of Roy's hands and flip through them. Waiting for a response is so damn _boring_.

"I found a box with some old pictures of the team when I was moving my and Lian's stuff over from the apartment," Roy says. Frustratingly, he doesn't hand them to Wally, instead flipping through them at normal human speed. "Man," he says, pausing on a picture from their early days as a team. "We sure were goofy-looking."

They're posed standing together as a group. Donna with her hair back in a ponytail and her Wonder-swimsuit on, standing shoulder to shoulder with Dick in his old Robin costume, both of them beaming at the camera. Wally's standing to the other side of Dick with his arm thrown casually over his shoulders; next to Donna, Roy is making bunny-ears behind Dick's head. And off to the other side, Garth, looking uncomfortable and out of place.

 _Holy crap_ , Wally realizes. _We were younger than Toni and Grant in that picture, by years._

"You realize that you and I were the only ones who got to wear pants, don't you? Man, we lucked out," Roy says smugly.

"Yeah, except-- nice hat, Speedy," Wally snickers.

Roy rolls his eyes. "I'd make fun of the ear-wings, but it's just too easy."

***

3\. _a transmission gear in automotive vehicles or bicycles_

The next picture is of the team minus Garth, lounging in civilian clothes in a snazzy-looking classic convertible. Roy is at the wheel of the car, grinning at the camera. He must have said something outrageous right before the picture was shot, because Donna is giving him a look of amused exasperation from the passenger seat and Wally appears to have smacked the baseball cap right off Roy's head. Next to Wally in the backseat, Dick is sitting with his arm draped lazily over the back of the seat and his head tilted back, laughing with his mouth open.

"Wow. Fearless leader actually looks... relaxed," Wally says, eyebrows raised disbelievingly.

"And here we'd thought that the stick up his ass had been surgically implanted. Who knew."

"Didn't we go driving for, like, three hours just to find the perfect spot for a picnic?"

"Yeah. Donna kept deciding it was too close to the road, or there were too many mosquitoes, or the ground was too wet. Girls," Roy adds, with an expression that indicates he might as well have said 'particle physics.'

"Hey, whose car was that, anyway?"

Roy shrugs nonchalantly. "One of Ollie's."

" _Ollie_ let you borrow one of his cars?"

"Not as such," Roy says, laughing a little as he flips to the next photo in the stack.

***

4\. _someone or something that appeals to one's taste_

Next is a shot of Donna, standing in a field with a bow held in one hand. It's obvious that she doesn't know that the picture is being taken. She's looking away from the camera, hand raised to shade her eyes from the sun as she gazes at something in the distance. She's wearing her red star-spangled costume, the sun highlighting the strong lines of her arms and legs. Eyes narrowed, she's frowning slightly, looking intent. Donna doesn't usually bring the word "Amazon" to Wally's mind. She's too sweet, too kind and giving. But in this picture she looks like a young warrior maiden, and for once he can actually see her as an Amazon princess.

"You two aren't starting up that will-they, won't-they thing again, are you?" Wally asks, making it into a joke.

Roy shrugs. "Nah, ancient history. Besides, you know how Wonder Chick is-- she makes up her mind and there's just no changing it."

"She's too good for you, anyway," Wally teases, but the words are abrupt and more serious-sounding than he had intended.

Roy is staring out over the water, his eyes distant and thoughtful. "I know," is all he says, and flips the picture over.

***

5\. _methamphetamine; also: related stimulant drugs_

The next picture is creased and worn, as if it spent some time being carried around in a wallet. They're all in civilian clothes again, sitting packed tightly together on an overstuffed couch. Roy is at the center of the frame, with Donna to his right and Dick to his left. There's something subtly _off_ about the picture. Donna's eyes are puffy, and Dick's got that look on his face like the entire world is his fault. Wally frowns, trying to figure out what the hell was going on with them. Then it hits him; Roy looks thin, pale, and unhealthy. And he's wearing a Great Frog tee-shirt. This must have been right after...

Roy frowns and quickly shuffles to the next picture. Wally bites his lip, wishing that he knew what the hell to say. After all these years, he still doesn't know what to think about it. Can't believe they never _noticed_ that Speedy was falling apart right in front of them.

And there's still a part of him that thinks that it was _wrong_ that Roy's law-breaking got swept under the rug. Roy did illegal drugs and god only knows what else, and he never saw the inside of a jail cell.

They're not supposed to be above the law... right?

But he's never known how to say it, how to make sure it comes out right, so he just keeps his mouth closed and shoves that thought to the back of his mind, with all the other thoughts that no one takes seriously because he's just goofy, immature Wally West.

***

6\. _prosperity in an undertaking (archaic)_

The last picture is from just a few hours ago. The new team, shiny and hopeful-looking, gathered in front of the Tower-that's-not-really-a-tower. Donna and Dick at the center of the photo, with Wally and Roy to either side of them, and the rest of the team surrounding them. It's weird, how even years later they still automatically take the same positions. Like their roles were fixed when they were barely into their teens, and ever since then they've just been rotating around Dick and Donna. Wally shakes his head and tells himself to stop being stupid-- it's just that Dick's the team leader and Donna's, like, the team _mom_ or something. It doesn't mean anything more than that.

"Wow. The kids look so _young_ ," Wally says.

Roy shrugs. "We were younger than them when we started out."

"Yeah, I know, it's just-- wow. It's good, though, y'know. Starting up this team, training the next generation." Wally nods his head vigorously, feeling a bit silly. He sounds like a recruitment poster or something.

"Making sure they don't make the same mistakes that we did," Roy says, the fingers of his right hand rubbing against the inside of his left elbow like he's not even aware that he's doing it.

"Yeah." Wally fidgets in place for a second and then blurts, "Hey. I was gonna head home, but now I'm thinking-- maybe we should do something for the kids for their first night. Like, get pizza and sit around and hang. Y'know, get to know each other as a team. What do you think?"

Roy looks surprised for a few seconds, and then he smiles slowly. "I think that'd be good. C'mon, let's go tell Garth he's buying pizza."

They walk up to the not-really-a-Tower, shoulders bumping, casually teasing each other, and Wally suddenly realizes what maybe should have been obvious from the start-- he's missed this. Missed them. Too-serious Dick, and sweet Donna, and trouble-making Roy, and always out-of-step Garth.

Yeah. He's got a good feeling about this.


End file.
